The manufacture of cold appliances is commonly done close to the customers because of the bulky nature of the appliances, a large proportion of the volume being empty space. This increases the cost of transportation. The cabinet must be easily assembled to form a rigid structure with good thermal insulation characteristics, and to resist moisture migration, and must have an aesthetically attractive appearance. A further complication is that the cabinet must contain technical equipment for performing different functions. In particular, cold appliances must have a refrigeration system and associated sensors and controls.
Another problem associated with the manufacturing of cold appliances is that it involves high investment costs for the development of product lines and the like. Conventional manufacturing plants for cold appliances are usually inflexible, so that it is difficult to adapt the plant for manufacturing cold appliances with differing dimensions and variable component options in small series. Normally, new product designs require large production runs to be economically feasible. Thus the developers are discouraged from innovation, or variations in product design are very costly.
It is desirable to provide a cold appliance which can be manufactured in segments amenable to transport and which can be assembled into a cabinet at another location which does not need the complex and expensive manufacturing equipment of the primary manufacturing site. The segments should be easy to assemble and interconnect.
This invention proposes a design for an insulated door for a cold appliance which is adapted to meet one or more of these criteria.
Any reference herein to known prior art does not, unless the contrary indication appears, constitute an admission that such prior art is commonly known by those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, at the priority date of this application.